Wednesday, 20 January 2016

The global paraxylene (PX) market is expected to reach USD 66.93 billion by 2022, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. Increasing polyester resin and fiber demand from various end-use industries is expected to drive global paraxylene market over the forecast period.

Increasing demand for purified terephthalic acid (PTA) in polyester production particularly in Asia Pacific has triggered paraxylene demand in the recent past and this trend is likely to continue over the next seven years. Higher conversion efficiency along with lower polyester production cost for PTA over DMT has increased PTA demand exponentially over past few years.U.S. paraxylene market volume by application, 2012-2022, (Kilo Tons)

Oversupply of PET in past few years has now forced PTA manufacturers to lower the capacity utilization rate in the recent past. PTA production capacity has expanded faster than the demand, affecting the global utilization rate. Sudden decrease in Chinese PTA import on account of increased in-house production has drastically affected PTA manufacturers located in Asia Pacific.

Increasing consumer awareness regarding non-disposable nature of petrochemical products and increasing demand for bio-based substitutes is expected to remain key challenges for market participants. Anti-PX movement in China initiated to increase societal awareness regarding pollution caused by PX production facilities is expected to inhibit the market growth over the forecast period. Huge difference between planned capacity additions and actual PX demand over the period is expected to drastically lower down the global operating rates over the forecast period, reducing profit margins for manufacturers.

Further key findings from the report suggest:

Global paraxylene market demand was 36.83 million tons in 2014 and is expected to reach 62.98 million tons by 2022, growing at a CAGR of 7.0% from 2015 to 2022.

Purified terephthalic acid (PTA) is expected to remain the largest application segment for PX in the global market. The segment accounted for over 95% of total PX demand in 2014. The growth may be attributed to increased demand for polyester from various end-use industries.

Asia Pacific emerged as the leading regional market with demand share estimated at 79.2% in 2014. Growing demand for polyester fiber and PET particularly in emerging economies of China and India is expected to drive the regional market. Asia Pacific is also expected to witness the highest growth of 7.3% from 2015 to 2022.